Wrong place, Wrong time, turned Right
by banishthegloom
Summary: Punky Brewster runs into NCIS agents before meeting Henry. Yes, I know the timing would be completely off.
1. Chapter 1

A little girl with colourful clothing and black pigtails sat in the car outside the supermarket. It seemed like her mom had been in there a long time. A really long time. Much too long. Especially since she told Punky she was just running in quickly and that was why there was no need for her to come along like she usually did. I wonder if she is having trouble finding something, Punky thought.

The manager of the supermarket eyed the last car in the parking lots suspiciously. It had been there most of the day. The store had been closed for an hour now though. He had been counting the registers and was in a bad mood. One of them had come up $40 short. The manager turned off the light and began to lock the door. Hearing a sound behind him, he turned quickly. A knife stuck in his gut and he fell over dead before he even had a chance to make a sound. The hooded figure holding the knife went into the supermarket and stole every penny in it. The person dashed away quickly.

Meanwhile, Punky had fallen asleep in the car while she waited for her mom. She woke up to police lights coming in the window. "Uh oh." Punky said suddenly awake and thinking fast. "We've got to get out of here Brandon." She told her new puppy as she picked him up and snuck out the car door. The police hadn't noticed her. They wondered about the car though and it's connection to the murder of the marine who had been scheduled back on active duty in two weeks. After identifying him, they called NCIS.

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"Gear up. We've got a body." Gibbs announced before the Team had even had a chance to sit at their desks.

"Aww boss, I haven't even had a chance to eat my breakfast." Tony complied. His complaint was difficult to understand though due to the half a jelly donut sticking out of his mouth.

"That's why I ate in the car." Caitlin commented cheerily. They both followed Gibbs into the elevator.

When the NCIS agents got to the scene of the crime, Gibbs noticed the empty and abandoned car first thing. He had Caitlin taking crime scene photos and Tony interviewing the couple who had called the police. Putting on his gloves, Gibbs took a closer look at the car. When he tried the handle it was unlocked. It was an older model and looked beat up. He found some food wrappers and toys in the back seat. There was also a bag and some clothing. In the trunk there was a bag of dog food. It didn't seem likely the car was abandoned with the things left in it. He decided he would have Abby check it for engine trouble if nothing else came up.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouted calling Tony over. Tony jogged over with his notepad in hand.

"The couple didn't see the crime, only the after effects. They live in the apartments over there." Tony said pointing. "They say they saw the victim lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Ducky is checking the TOD. Local police say the supermarket door was unlocked and the cash registers emptied.

"Anything on why this car is here?" Gibbs asked. Tony looked over.

"Well, it's a junker. It was probably just abandoned. Who knows how long it's been there boss?" Tony stated. After a glare from Gibbs he continued. "I go find out how long it's been there." Tony said running off.

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	2. Chapter 2

Punky had hidden in a nearby park for the night. When it was morning, she went back to the supermarket parking lot. She was planning to retrieve her stuff from the car, at least some of it, but she seen the place was still swarming with police. She sat behind some nearby bushes and waited for them to leave. After every car she could see pulled away and the coast seemed clear she left her hiding spot.

"Come on Brandon. Let's do this quick. This place is giving me chills. We need your dog food and my My." Punky said. She walked a few steps into the parking lot before she realized something was off.

"Oh no! Brandon, the car's gone. What are we going to do?" Punky asked panicked. "What if my mom came back and we weren't there so she drove off looking for us?" Punky asked completely devastated. She sank to the ground and hugged Brandon. Brandon licked her face.

Unknown to Punky, Gibbs had stayed behind at the crime scene and was watching the whole time. He chose this time to make himself known.

"What's the matter?" Gibbs asked. Punky jumped up quickly, startled. It seemed as though Gibbs had just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Some guard dog you are, she thought looking at Brandon. He was just a puppy still though so she knew it wasn't his fault.

"Um…well…nothing. I…just lost my doll." Punky said thinking. She wasn't sure if she could trust this person and losing her mom was a big thing. She might need to get away by pretending her mom was around or looking for her or something.

"Maybe I can help find it. What does it look like?" Gibbs asked.

"Uh, no, that's okay, I'll find it myself. I actually think I may remember where I left her. Bye!" Punky said quickly and then turned to leave.

"Hold it." Gibbs said. Punky stopped. "Was your doll a baby with no hair, in a white gown, with no shoes?" Gibbs asked outright. Punky's eyes lit up and then seemed to dim again. How did he know that? She wondered.

"Maybe. Why? Have you seen her?" Punky asked hopefully.

"She was in an abandoned car this morning. We took her and it to where I work." Gibbs stated. Punky had a look somewhere between confusion and worry. She wondered why she felt like she was in trouble. She hadn't done anything wrong that she knew of. If this man had her mom's car though…that meant her mom hadn't come back.

"I'm Agent Gibbs. What's your name?" Gibbs asked Punky. He was ready in a moment to grab her if she decided to take off. It was obvious this little girl was a witness. He was trying not to spook her. Punky sighed.

"I'm Punky Brewster. This is my dog Brandon. It's nice to meet you." She said. It didn't feel very nice to meet this Agent Gibbs at all, she felt a little worried actually, but she was taught to always say that when meeting someone.

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Even though Punky seemed unsure about it, she agreed to go to NCIS with Gibbs after he showed her his badge. She was smart to ask, Gibbs thought, though he knew someone could have just grabbed her had they been impersonating.

Gibbs called Children and Family Services right away and there was a representative watching as Punky answered questions. Gibbs had Ducky take a look at Punky right away, not only to do a medical examination but also a psychological one. Ducky looked concerned as he came out of the room and shut the door behind him.

"Well?" Gibbs asked.

"It is most surprising Jethro. The girl is in fine shape. No signs of abuse or neglect. As for the crime, she doesn't know there is one." Ducky replied.

"What do you mean? You couldn't get her to tell you anything?" Gibbs asked.

"Quite the contrary. Punky is very talkative, she simply didn't witness anything. She told me her mother went into the supermarket and Punky fell asleep while waiting for her return. She was awoken but bright lights and noise which startled her so she ran. I'm afraid she was simply acting as a child does in a confusing situation and not out of fear for having seen anything. She doesn't know there was a murder and for the sake of her innocence, which by natural course will cease on it's own, I suggest she be kept uninformed of it." Ducky explained.

"Thanks Ducky." Gibbs sighed as he took in the information. So his witness wasn't a witness at all. Bad for the case but good for the little girl. Still he wanted to see if there was something he could do to help her before he let children's services take her so he told them he needed to hold her a little while longer to make sure she wasn't in any way connected to the crime. He sent Punky down to Abby since Abby had already been watching Brandon.

"Hi Punky, I'm Abby. Brandon and I have become good friends. Isn't that right Brandon?" Abby said. Brandon barked and wagged his tail. Punky smiled. "I'm glad. He's never been without me before and I'm sure he needs a friend." Punky replied. Gibbs left at seeing the two getting along well.

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	3. Chapter 3

It was a few hours later when Gibbs returned to Abby's lab, only to find no one around.

"Abby?" He called out. He heard a thump come from a large cabinet. There seemed to be some sort of barrier made out of chairs and other furniture around it. It took him a minute to clear before he was finally able to get to the doors of the cabinet themselves which were held in place by a light blue bandana. Abby tumbled out the moment the doors opened.

"She's gone." Abby said. She looked ruffled and upset.

"How long of a head start does she have?" Gibbs asked.

"Around two hours." Abby answered. "I'm so sorry Gibbs. One minute we were talking and next thing I know -. Abby stopped midsentence because Gibbs was already gone. He had Tony and Caitlin put out a BOLO and a building lockdown before they joined in the search.

They found that she had taken her bag, doll, and a few other of her items from the evidence lock up. It seemed that despite being dressed so brightly, Punky was small enough not to be noticed when she somehow slipped into the secure area. After a more thorough search they found she was no longer in the building and according to security camera's had left shortly after locking Abby in the cabinet.

Gibbs had everyone get back on their current case saying that Children's Services would handle it. In truth he planned to search for the girl as soon as he solved the case. A murder was on the loose and for now that would have to take priority.

Meanwhile Punky was doing her best to be discrete as she walked down the sidewalk. She had run at first, but she felt like she was far enough away now. Brandon barked. "Of course I have a plan." Punky answered. Brandon barked again. "Well the plan is…the plan is…" Punky started saying when suddenly her face lit up. "The plan is to have no plan! Yeah. See that way there is no way Agent Gibbs can track us. If we don't know where we are going then how can he?" Punky exclaimed, suddenly inspired.

A while later it started raining. "I guess we are far enough away now. So where should we live?" Punky asked as she looked around. She didn't see any good places. As she walked around looking the rain started coming down harder. Suddenly Brandon barked. "What?" asked Punky. Brandon barked again and she seen he was looking up at a window that wasn't completely closed. Punky decided to check it out and started to climb up the fire escape. Brandon barked. "Shhh! I'll come back if there is a place for us to say." Punky told him. As she got to the window she came face to face with another little girl. They both yelped and jumped back.

"I'm Cherie Johnson. Who are you?" Cherie asked.

"I'm Punky Brewster. Nice to meet you. Do you know a place we can stay around here?" Punky asked.

"We?" Cherie asked.

"Yeah me and my dog Brandon. We're new to the area." Punky stated.

"Well, when people are new to the area they usually get an apartment." Cherie looked around. "This one's open. No one is supposed to be in here but I wanted to check it out. No one has lived in this apartment forever. But where are your parents?"

"I don't have any. I'm on my own. Just me and Brandon." Punky said proudly.

"Come on in." Cherie said opening the window up all the way.

"Just a minute." Punky said climbing down the fire escape. Cherie watched as she put Brandon in her bag and tried to carry him up the fire escape. It wasn't working very well.

"Hold on. I'll get a rope." Cherie said as her head disappeared from the window. A minute or so later it was back and she threw one end of the rope to Punky. "Tie it on the bag and we'll pull him up." Cherie advised. Punky tied the rope to the bags handle and ran up the fire escape to help pull.

A few minute later Punky, Brandon, and Cherie were sitting on the floor of the empty apartment. There was water all over the floor from Punky and Brandon but the window was closed and it was better than being outside. Cherie had a whole snack cake in her pocket and gave it to Punky and Brandon. She had grabbed it at the same time she got the rope. They talked for a long time until Mrs. Johnson started looking for Cherie.

"Will you be here tomorrow?" Cherie asked.

"Not til late. I have something to do first." Punky said. With a nod Cherie left and Punky and Brandon were all alone.

"I feel kind of bad for locking Abby in the cabinet. She was nice, but there is no way she would have understood that I need to go find my mom." She told Brandon. "Anyway, I'm glad we met Cherie. She is real nice, and makes good dinner too huh?" She said referring to the snack cake. She looked around the apartment. There was a chair next to the lamp that they had been using. Punky got on the chair with Brandon snuggled next to her and turned off the light. Tomorrow she was determined to find her mom.

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	4. Chapter 4

Two days later the case was closed and Gibbs went in search of Punky. He stayed around the supermarket for a while, hoping she would show up. He seen her coming out of the store, talking to a lady and caring a bag to her car. Before he could approach her, Punky left the parking lot. Gibbs decided to follow her. After he seen where she was going he planned to talk to her and take her to children's services. He hoped she would go willingly. When Gibbs seen her climb through and apartment window he shook his head. This had gone on long enough.

Gibbs went around to the front of the apartment. He planned to speak to the manager and get Punky. Just as he was going down the hall, Gibbs seen Henry talking to Punky. He stepped back into the shadows. He watched more of their interaction and then seen Punky go into Henry's apartment for dinner. She's going to be okay, Gibbs thought. He felt it in his gut. He would leave an anonymous tip with Children's services, but NCIS had already left it to them. He would check up in a week to see how things were going. Gibbs hoped that maybe she didn't need his help after all.

THE END


End file.
